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In The Hell of Saddam Hussein
365 Days in Qasr al-Nihaya
by ShaĠul Hakham Sassoon
Son of the Former Head of the Jewish Community of Iraq
Edited by Shmuel Moreh and Nissim Qazzaz
Published by the Association for Jewish Academics from Iraq -Jerusalem 1999, 98 pp.
In November 1968, the Ba'ath Party under Ahmed Hassan al Bakr and Saddam Hussein came to power in Iraq in a bloodless coup. Shortly afterwards, they began a reign of terror against the small Jewish community in retaliation for the humiliating defeat in the Six Day War the previous year of the Arab armies including the army of Iraq.
Prior to the hanging of innocent Jews in January, 1969, the Iraqi authorities rounded up a number of prominent Jews including Sha'ul Sassoon in order to silence his father who was Head of the Jewish community, during the terrible events that followed.
In this Arabic monograph, ninety-year old Abu Zuhair recounts his experience of imprisonment and torture for 365 days in the House of no Return (Qasr al-Nihaya), previously Qasr al-Rihab, one of the Royal Palaces of the old Regime.
This booklet is part of a more comprehensive history of the Jewish Community in Iraq, currently being prepared by the author.
Other articles relating to the Baghdad Hangings :
30th Anniversary of Iraqi Jews executed in Baghdad in 1969
Iraqi Jewish Martyrs 30th Anniversary - Speech by Percy Gourgey, MBE